Height: ~200 ft.Access:Distance: 11 miles (1 way) Elevation: 5200 ft (-2200 ft) Season: Mar-OctDifficulty:Form:Lat/Long:36.26320, -112.70750 Directions:From I-40 at Seligman, take exit 123 and drive 33 miles west on Hwy #66 to Indian Road 18. Turn right and drive 60 miles to parking lot at Hualapai Hilltop (at end of the road). Indian Road 18 can also be accessed from Kingman, by driving ~50 miles east on Hwy #66 (~6 miles past Peach Springs). There are no services after Seligman (or Kingman).

Mooney Falls is about 1 mile past Havasu Falls, just past the campground. It is a towering and breathtaking waterfall of about 200 ft. in height. There is a really nice view of the falls from the top, looking down on the enticing pool into which the waterfall drops. The fun part (and scary part) of this waterfall, though, is getting to its base. From the top of the falls, the trail continues down to a warning sign, indicating to proceed at your own risk, and not to try descending in inclement weather. From here, you have to squeeze through two narrow tunnels built into the cliff. When you emerge from the tunnels, you are looking straight down the cliff to the pool at the base of the falls, and wondering if you are crazy enough to proceed. It is a steep descent. But it is really not too difficult, unless you are scared of heights. We saw some young boys get down, as well as a group of hikers carrying heavy packs. How they did that, we are not sure. But there are sturdy chains to hang onto as you work your way down, and many footholds. I was more concerned about how easy it would be to get back up in a couple places. But it turned out, going back up was much easier. Finally, I made it to the bottom, and was able to breathe again.

Once at the bottom, there is a lot of exploring to do. There is a great pool at the base of the falls for swimming. If you continue down the trail a bit, you will also come across what we are calling Lower Mooney Falls, a small but interesting 20 ft. waterfall. There are great views of the canyon there as well. The trail continues down to Beaver Falls and the Colorado River (another 6 miles downstream, after a lot of creek crossing and wading).

Mooney Falls is named after James Mooney, who died here while attempting to rescue an injured friend by climbing back to the top with his friend tied onto his back.

To read more information about getting to Supai and Mooney Falls, see our write-up on Havasu Falls.